Training session: Identification games to implement a Socio-Sports Meeting

This article is part of a series of training sessions to learn how to implement Socio-Sports Meetings. This socio-educational intervention is used to promote the social inclusion of people in a situation of social exclusion or who are at risk of social exclusion.

In this session, we present eight identification games that are used in the first part of these Meetings. Identification games are designed for the participants to begin to relate and get to know each other. One or two are usually used in a session.

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Socio-Sports Meetings

The Socio-Sports Meetings are a socio-educational model based on physical activity that aims to develop the participants’ social skills, improve their physical and psychological health and create positive links between them to promote coexistence and social inclusion. As a  result, there is steady improvement in their quality of life and segregation in society is reduced.

This type of activity is usually carried out by professionals active in social work, education, pedagogy, psychology or sports.

You can learn about the complete structure of a Socio-Sports Meeting (of which identification games are a part) in this article: “Example of implementation of a Socio-Sports Meeting”.

If you want to experience this socio-educational intervention in person, we invite you to go to the University of Barcelona, where we implement Socio-Sports Meetings every week with refugees and students. Here is more information.

1. Will you come with me?

• Type: Identification game
• Material: None
• Game description:
  All the participants form a circle and say their name. One stands in the middle and begins the game by saying: “I’m going to the market to buy bananas, potatoes and apples, and I’m going with…” and says the names of between three and six participants.
  The person in the middle announces the start with a clap and the named people must run to switch positions, as does the person in the middle. Whoever is left without a place stands in the middle and starts the game again, reciting a different shopping list.
• Variation: Each time a new person starts the game, the opening sentence is changed for a different activity. For example, “I’m going to see a soccer game and I’m going with…”, or “I’m going to the theatre and I’m going with…”.
• Observations: Tell the participants to be careful not to collide with anyone when they switch places.

2. Packs

• Type: Identification game
• Material: None
• Game description:
  All the members of the group disperse, running freely around the space. To begin, the facilitator shouts a number out loud. For example: “Packs of five!” Everyone must then be grouped according to the number called. Once the groups have been formed, the members remind each other of their names.
• Variation: Group according to physical or personal characteristics.
  For example, “Group together by”:
  – Eye colour
  – Shoe size
  – Hair colour
  – Sneaker colour
  – Country they want to visit
  – Favourite food
• Observations: Tell the participants to be careful not to collide with anyone when they switch places.

3. Friends

• Type: Identification game
• Material: None
• Game description:
  The participants stand in a circle. After they go around and tell everyone their names, the game begins. One person says: “I am…”. After saying their name, they raise the hand of the person on their right, saying: “And this is my friend, xxx”. This continues until everyone in the group has been named.

4. Let’s switch places!

• Type: Identification game
• Material: None
• Game description:
  The participants stand in a circle. Everyone says their name in turn to remind the others. One person starts the game by saying the name of anyone in the circle and switches places with them. As two people walk past each other, they high-five each other.
  After occupying their new position in the circle, the person who has been named says the name of another person with whom to switch places. The dynamic is repeated until everyone has been named.
• Observations: Look for strategies to encourage participants to name those who have not yet participated.

5. The neighbourhood

• Type: Identification game
• Material: None
• Game description:
  All the participants stand in a circle and say their name. One stands in the middle and begins the game by naming someone and asking: “Would you like to meet my new neighbours?” (referring to the people to their respective left and right).
  – If the other person says “YES”, they should be asked: “Who would you like to meet?” This other person responds by saying the name of two different people. When the new neighbours have been named, the person in the middle gives the starting signal with a clap. At that moment, the two people on either side (the current neighbours) and the other two (the new neighbours) must run and switch positions. Bear in mind that the person in the middle will also run to try to occupy one of the four empty spaces. The person who has been asked and those who have not been named remain still in place.
  – If the other person says “NO”, someone else should be asked until someone is found who says yes.
• Observations:
  Visually mark the space occupied by each person in the circle to guarantee they are separated and to correctly identify empty spaces. You can mark it on the ground with chalk or with your own foot if the ground is sandy.
  Tell the participants to be careful not to collide with anyone when they switch places

6. Overturned basket

• Variation: Choose more fruits to add difficulty to the game.
  For example, if they say “cherry”, the person pointed at must respond with the name of the person in the middle. If they say “pear”, they must say the names of the people to their right and left.
• Observations: Tell the participants to be careful not to collide with anyone when they switch places.

7. Let’s remember!

• Type: Identification game
• Material: None
• Game description:
  Groups of between six and 10 people are formed. Each group stands in a circle with the others. One person starts the game by saying their name. The person next to them follows, saying the name of the previous person and their own name. This goes on until the last person says the names of all the classmates, from the first to their own.
• Variation: Let’s pack the backpack!
  Follow the same dynamic with the following change: someone starts the game by saying their name and an object to put in an imaginary backpack. They must first specify the activity for which they are preparing the backpack (going to the beach, on a hike, to school, etc.). This involves repeating the names of the people and the object in a chain.
• Observations: Point out that if someone does not remember a name or makes a mistake, the other participants will help them to remember it together.

8. Fans

• Type: Identification game
• Material: None
• Game description:
  The participants occupy the entire space, walking, separated from each other. When two people agree, they play “1, 2, 3, rock, paper, scissors”. The person who wins continues walking and the person who loses follows them, continually cheering them on (acting as a fan). Each time someone wins a game, they get a new fan: the person who just lost the game and those already following them.
  Dynamic of “1,2,3, rock, paper, scissors”: Two people hide their hands behind their backs and say: “1, 2, 3, go!” at the same time. Then  both people show the hand they had hidden in the form of:
  – Rock (closed fist).
  – Paper (open hand with fingers extended).
  – Scissors (hand closed with the index and middle finger extended, making the victory symbol).
  Paper beats rock, wrapping over it. Rock beats scissors, smashing it. Scissors beats paper, cutting it.
• Variation: Odds or evens
  When two people meet, one chooses even numbers and the other chooses odd numbers. They both hide one hand behind their back and decide how many fingers they are going to use. At the same time, they say: “1, 2, 3, go!”, show their hands and add up the total number of fingers presented. If the result is odd, whoever said “odd” wins. If the number is even, whoever said “even” wins.
• Observations: Tell the people playing the role of fans that they must have a positive attitude at all times, applauding and encouraging the person they follow with positive messages.